It's a Mexican Knock-Out New Year
Thanks to my brother and his wife visiting from Mexico, we had a slightly unusual New Year's night. My bro's wife is a native of the country, and wanted to show us a "traditional" Mexican New Year, possibly to pay us back for plying her with traditional sprouts and traditional bad cracker jokes for the preceding week.
It started with a feast of Mexican snacks, even the rather British Cathedral City cheese-onna-stick was sporting little red, white and green tricolours for the occasion. That was followed by various delicious combinations of chillies, meats, beans and starchy things.
At midnight we were instructed to write down 12 wishes for the New Year (I got to about seven before running out of ideas and resorting to stuff like "a Nintendo Wii"), and were given a bowl containing 12 grapes. At the stroke of midnight, on each chime of Big Ben, we had to eat one grape for each wish.
Now, it's actually quite hard to eat 12 grapes in a time limit, especially when you've got a fit of the giggles and grape juice has started coming out of your nose. I soldiered on bravely though. I really want that Wii.
After the grapes, we had to run outside, grab a suitcase by the handle and run in circles around it. It was about now the whole thing seemed to take on an "It's a Knockout" vibe. All it needed really was some giant foam Comedy Mexican costumes and Stuart Hall providing a maniacal commentary. "He's tripped over his sombrero!! Hahahahhaha haahaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"
The suitcase-running was apparently supposed to ensure foriegn travel in the coming year, but I wonder if by this stage it was just "lets see what stupid things we can get the silly English people to do".
Still, a lot of fun. And we got a free fireworks display from the hotel up the road, result!
P.S. In a very brief foray onto the web just now to research the New Year traditions of Mexico, I turned up this article which states that for good luck in the new year, you should wear knickers like this...
Why didn't anybody tell me that two days ago!?
It started with a feast of Mexican snacks, even the rather British Cathedral City cheese-onna-stick was sporting little red, white and green tricolours for the occasion. That was followed by various delicious combinations of chillies, meats, beans and starchy things.
At midnight we were instructed to write down 12 wishes for the New Year (I got to about seven before running out of ideas and resorting to stuff like "a Nintendo Wii"), and were given a bowl containing 12 grapes. At the stroke of midnight, on each chime of Big Ben, we had to eat one grape for each wish.
Now, it's actually quite hard to eat 12 grapes in a time limit, especially when you've got a fit of the giggles and grape juice has started coming out of your nose. I soldiered on bravely though. I really want that Wii.
After the grapes, we had to run outside, grab a suitcase by the handle and run in circles around it. It was about now the whole thing seemed to take on an "It's a Knockout" vibe. All it needed really was some giant foam Comedy Mexican costumes and Stuart Hall providing a maniacal commentary. "He's tripped over his sombrero!! Hahahahhaha haahaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"
The suitcase-running was apparently supposed to ensure foriegn travel in the coming year, but I wonder if by this stage it was just "lets see what stupid things we can get the silly English people to do".
Still, a lot of fun. And we got a free fireworks display from the hotel up the road, result!
P.S. In a very brief foray onto the web just now to research the New Year traditions of Mexico, I turned up this article which states that for good luck in the new year, you should wear knickers like this...
Why didn't anybody tell me that two days ago!?
The thing with the suitcase though, I'm pretty certain he was just putting you on.
Happy New Year!
You wear yellow (or gold) underwear for good luck or money, red underwear for love, and blue one for health.
There is also a thing with twelve candles, one for each month, to bless the months.
Another is to put money on your shoes, or in a corner on the house to bring money.
And is always fun to see the people that do the suitcase thing.
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